title: Cueing an unresolved personal goal causes persistent ruminative self-focus: an experimental evaluation of control theories of rumination.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Control theory predicts that the detection of goal discrepancies initiates ruminative self-focus (Martin & Tesser, 1996). Despite the breadth of applications and interest in control theory, there is a lack of experimental evidence evaluating this prediction. The present study provided the first experimental test of this prediction.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined uninstructed state rumination in response to the cueing of resolved and unresolved goals in a non-clinical population using a novel measure of online rumination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistent with control theory, cueing an unresolved goal resulted in significantly greater recurrent intrusive ruminative thoughts than cueing a resolved goal. Individual differences in trait rumination moderated the impact of the goal cueing task on the extent of state rumination: individuals who had a stronger tendency to habitually ruminate were more susceptible to the effects of cueing goal discrepancies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings await replication in a clinically depressed sample where there is greater variability and higher levels of trait rumination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that control theories of goal pursuit provide a valuable framework for understanding the circumstances that trigger state rumination. Additionally, our measure of uninstructed online state rumination was found to be a valid and sensitive index of the extent and temporal course of state rumination, indicating its value for further investigating the proximal causes of state rumination.
authors.affiliation: Mood Disorders Centre, Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK. H.Roberts@exeter.ac.uk
authors.forename: Henrietta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Edward R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Andy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wills
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Control theory; Goals; Rumination; Self-regulation